Tobacco control apparatchiks perpetuate many myths about smoking alternative products. But now they’re using Greek myths to perpetuate their myths about smoking alternative problems.
Let’s plug into this bizarro world of Myth-ception.
The Conversation on Pouches
Becky Freeman’s recent piece in The Conversation has got me thinking. But probably not in the way the author intended.
Instead, I was thinking about nominative determinism.
There’s obviously an irony in someone called Freeman trying to clamp down on people’s right to use nicotine products. But, if you’ve spent any time with Black people, you’ll know that a “Becky” would be the type to do it.
Strange tweet
Jokes aside, Freeman has evoked Greek mythology to explain her stance on nicotine pouches.
She says that:
https://twitter.com/DrBFreeman/status/1761924240159510651
Let's think this analogy through.
Nicotine pouches are a far, far safer alternative to smoking.
Does Freeman think that when you cut off the Hydra’s head, two far more begin and non-lethal heads would grow in their place?
Would the good people of Lerna — already struggling with the burden of living near an entrance to the Underworld — have feared the Hydra if they could employ the harm reduction method of cutting away the heads so that it would regenerate but without all the poison?
Also, would a hero of Hercules's pedigree even need to get involved in taking down this defanged version of the Hydra? I doubt it.
Freeman’s take on this mythological story entirely misunderstands its meaning. It’s a story about persevering, even when facing a problem that can’t be fixed.
I don’t think the myth would stand the test of time if cutting away the head was a net benefit. It just wouldn’t have the resonance.
The offending article
As for the article, it’s the usual guff you’d expect from someone tangled up in a conflict of interest so outrageous that it makes the bribery in the Judgement of Paris look minor.
Freeman wheels out the usual tropes. Such as:
#1. Nicotine is harmful to health
According to the NHS, nicotine is “relatively harmless.”
#2. Nicotine may have negative effects on adolescent brain development
Another frequent lie by Tobacco Control. There are no studies that show nicotine affects adolescent brain development.
I suspect Freeman knows this because (see above) she hyperlinks to this article in support of her claim.
Surely it will be a study? No, of course not. It’s just a statement from the Australian Department of Health that says, “Evidence shows nicotine can be harmful and may have adverse impacts on adolescent brain development.”
The study is nowhere in sight, but we can bet it would be some thin gruel about a study in mice if it were.
#3. We don’t have enough evidence
You say that, but we have generations of snus use to look at. And we have this biomarker research on pouches that concludes:
“As compared with smokers, exclusive users of Velo NPs have significantly less exposure to tobacco toxicants and more favourable BoPHs associated with initiating biological processes of smoking-related diseases.”
#4. Some pouches contain TSNAs
Research in Germany showed that 50% of pouches they researched showed the presence of tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs). Regulation and manufacturing guidelines could solve these issues across the board. Driving these products underground will not.
For some reason, Freeman didn’t try to claim nicotine was a gateway to smoking to complete a clean sweep of the top five Tobacco Control myths.
Final thoughts
Though I sincerely wish her well, Freeman might take note of Daedalus and Icarus, perhaps the most famous Greek myth of all.
In this tragic tale, Icarus' hubris, arrogance, and dismissal of the wise advice of Daedalus see him fly too close to the sun. It’s hard to think of a story that neatly fits the current state of Australia’s Tobacco Control any better.
